GYMN-L Digest - 31 Mar 1995 to 1 Apr 1995

There are 7 messages totalling 452 lines in this issue.

Topics of the day:

1. The movies
2. April Calendar
3. Where is . . .
4. First post, a question.
5. Bad Press
6. Media Screw-ups
7. SPITFIRE

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sat, 1 Apr 1995 00:07:52 -0400
From: ***@CORNELL.EDU
Subject: The movies

I'm just throwing my hat into this ring, but does it seem that most movies
based in any way on gymnastics are just a tiny bit plot wild? (Specific
reference to "Spitfire" here.)

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 1 Apr 1995 00:53:57 -0500
From: ***@DELPHI.COM
Subject: April Calendar

###################################################################
# #
# ________ G y m n ________ \ | ___ #
# o __o |o |o (o #
# An electronic forum !__ \! ! ! \. #
# for gymnastics. ====== ====== ====== ====== ====== #
# #
###################################################################

The Gymn Calendar

Anyone that has any events to add to this calendar, please mail them
to me.
All events on this calendar are subject to change. -- John
---------------------------------------------------------------------


April 1995
S M Tu W Th F S
1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
30

3 BROADCAST Peachtree Classic/ ESPN, 9:00PM EDT
5 Superstars of Gymnastics/ Philadelphia, PA
7 BROADCAST PAC-10 Women's Championships/ ESPN, 12:30AM EDT
8 NCAA Regionals (W)/ (West) Oregon St. U./
(Midwest) U. of Nebraska/ (Central) U. of Michigan/
(Southeast) Towson St. U./ (Northeast) Kent St. U.
8 NCAA Regionals (M)/ (West) U. of Oklahoma/ (East) Penn St. U.
11-15 USAG Collegiate Championships/ Denton, TX
12-14 20th Tournoi de Corbeil-Essones (R)/ Corbeil, France
15 USAG National Inv. Tournament/ Cape Girardeau, MO
20-22 NCAA National Champs (W)/ Athens, GA
20-22 NCAA National Champs (M)/ Columbus, OH
21-23 XXXVIII Romanian Int'l Tournament (M/W)/ Ploiesti, Romania
27-28 VISA Challenge: USA/BLR/CHN (M/W)/ Fairfax, VA
27-30 Four Continents Championships (R)/ Cairo, Egypt
27-30 Western Canadian Championships (M/W)/ Winnipeg, Manitoba
29 BROADCAST VISA Challenge (W)/ ABC, 4:30-6:00PM EDT
-----


May 1995
S M Tu W Th F S
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30 31

5-7 Rhythmic J.O. Nationals/ Atlanta, GA
11-14 Boys' J.O. Nationals/ Oakland, CA
11-14 Junior J.O. Nationals (W)/ West Palm Beach, FL
13-14 Western Rhythmic Open/ Downer's Grove, IL
18-21 Senior J.O. Nationals (W)/ Lincoln, NE
20-21 Eastern Rhythmic Open/ TBA
22-29 Sports Acro Jr. World Championships/ Riesa, Germany
23-27 Canadian National Championships (M/W)/ Vancouver, BC (at UBC)
29-7/2 National Gym Fest/ ?
-----


June 1995
S M Tu W Th F S
1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30

5-10 USAIGC Championships/ Orlando, FL
8-11 Canadian RSG Championships/ Winnipeg, Manitoba
9-11 Elite Regionals (W)/ TBA
9-11 USAG Rhythmic National Championships/ Jacksonville, FL
16-18 European Cup Final/ Rome, Italy
17-18 Budget Rent-A-Car Invitational/ San Jose, CA
24 BROADCAST European Cup (M)/ ABC, 4:30-6:00PM EDT
24-25 Rhythmic European Cup/ Telford, England
24-27 Junior Pacific Alliance/ Cali, Colombia
25 BROADCAST/Budget Rent-A-Car Invit./ NBC, 3:00-5:00PM EDT
16-18 USAG Rhythmic National Championships/ TBA
TBA BROADCAST/USAG Rhythmic National Champ./ CBS, TBA
-----


July 1995
S M Tu W Th F S
1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
30 31

1-9 Special Olympics World Summer Games/ New Haven, CT
1 BROADCAST European Cup (W)/ ABC, 4:30-6:00PM EDT
1-2 Elite Regionals (W)/ TBA
7-8 National Elite Gymnastics Festival (W)/ TBA
9-12 YMCA Nationals/ Savannah, GA
9-15 10th World Gymnaestrada/ Berlin, Germany
16-23 USSAF Sports Acro Nationals/ Rockford, IL
21-30 U.S. Olympic Festival (M/W/R)/ Denver, CO
21-23 U.S. Classic Nationals/ TBA
TBA BROADCAST U.S. Olympic Fest. (M/W/R)/ TBA
-----


August 1995
S M Tu W Th F S
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30 31

12 Gymn's Third Anniversary
15-20 Western Canada Summer Games (M/W/R)/ Abbotsford, BC
16-19 Coca-Cola USA Championships (M/W)/ New Orleans, LA
19 BROADCAST Coca-Cola USA Champ. (M/W)/NBC, 8:00PM EDT
20 BROADCAST Coca-Cola USA Champ. (M/W)/NBC, 7:00PM EDT
17-20 USA Gymnastics National Congress/ New Orleans, LA
23-9/8 World University Games (M/W/R)/ Fukuoka, Japan
30-31 Int'l Junior Competition/ Yokohama, Japan
-----


September 1995
S M Tu W Th F S
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30

8-9 NationsBank U.S. World Team Trials/ TBA
19-24 Rhythmic World Championships/ Vienna, Austria
-----


October 1995
S M Tu W Th F S
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31

1-10 Artistic World Championships/ Sabae City, Japan
4-7 Olympic Congress of the USA/ Atlanta, GA
8 BROADCAST World Champs/ ABC, TBD
15 BROADCAST World Champs/ ABC, TBD
-----


November 1995
S M Tu W Th F S
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30

1-4 Australia Cup/ Sidney, Australia
6-13 Sports Acro World Championships/ Wroclaw, Poland
14-17 Pre-Olympics (???)/ Atlanta, GA
24-26 DTB Cup/ Stuttgart, Germany
-----


December 1995
S M Tu W Th F S
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31

1-3 Swiss Cup/ Zurich, Switzerland
1-3 European Championships Team Final/ Charleroi, Belgium
7-8 Grand Prix/ Birmingham, England
16-17 Chunichi Cup/ Nagoya, Japan
-----


February 1996

9-11 American Classic/ Tulsa, OK
-----


April 1996

9-16 World Championships/ ???
15-21 Artistic World Championships/ San Juan, Puerto Rico
-----


May 1996

TBA Canadian National Champs. (M/W)/ Sault St. Marie, Ontario
16-19 U.S. Classic/ TBA
28-6/1 U.S. National Championships/ Knoxville, TN
-----


June 1996

27-30 U.S. Olympic Team Trials/ Boston, MA
-----


July 1996
S M Tu W Th F S
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30 31

19-8/4 Games of the XVIth Olympiad/ Atlanta, GA
-----


August 1996

12 Gymn's Fourth Anniversary
16-27 Xth Paralympic Games/ Atlanta, Ga.
-----


August 1997

31-9/12 World University Games, Sicily, ITA
-----


July 1998

25-8/9 Goodwill Games, New York, N.Y.
-----


Summer 1999

TBD World University Games, Palma de Mallorca, ESP
TBD XIIIth Pan American Games, Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN
-----


September 2000

16-10/1 Games of the XXVIIth Olympiad, Sydney, AUS
-----


October 2000

21-11/1 XIth Paralympic Games, Sydney, AUS
-----

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 1 Apr 1995 13:41:56 -0800
From: ***@NEWS.LATIMES.COM
Subject: Where is . . .

Hi,

Does anyone out there in Cyberspace have a working number
for the National Academy of Gymnastics of Eugene, Ore., run by Dick
Mulvihill. Our gymnastics writer is trying to reach them and so far
has been unsuccessful.

If someone does, he or she can send the response to my address.

Thank you.

Elliott

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 1 Apr 1995 17:36:25 -0500
From: ***@PRISM.GATECH.EDU
Subject: First post, a question.

Hello, I am new member to your group and I wanted to know if anyone could help
me out with something. I am looking for video coverage of major meets which
occur (WC, OG, EC, AG etc.) I know that many television shows tape these but
ONLY show us a small amount and I was wondering if anyone knows of someone
who may be distributing the ENTIRE video which shows us all the routines
(not just the select few that are aired). In the past (a LONG time
ago,) I knew that the USGF would sell video of major meets. The last
time I saw this was in '85, however. Any pointers?


Thanks. Jeff

Trivia Question: When did a former Romanian Gymanst say "We eat less before
competitions, and drink more milk." when asked why she and her fellow
Romanians were so thin at a competition?

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 1 Apr 1995 18:13:13 -0500
From: ***@AOL.COM
Subject: Bad Press

Hi All,

Just wondering if any of you have access to the Atlanta Journal? Yesterday,
they did a 2 1/2 page story on gymnastics. Great right? Wrong. It was full of
nothing but bad press. The whole article was called " Special report : The
high price of perfection" with sections on The Parents, The Physical Toll,
The Alternative, The Coaches, The Star System, The Burnout. While there were
several photos, the most memoriable one was of Atlanta's own, Tanya Maiers,
IMHO, the photo was in poor taste, it showed a very upset and crying Tanya.
The section on physical toll, was on all of her injuries.

While the article had several valid points, it was distasteful and said
nothing nice about the sport. ( I guess writers forget what their moms told
them about "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all")

If you have access to the paper, take a look. If you don't let me know and we
will get you a copy.

Bye,
Lori

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 1 Apr 1995 18:43:59 -0500
From: ***@AOL.COM
Subject: Media Screw-ups

To All:
I guess the best way to begin my post is by way of illustration. Last
year, the local newspaper covered a University of Florida women's collegiate
gymnastics meet and said, "UF just barely won, 194.5 to 190.2."
I shook my head in disbelief. Obviously, the newspaper had sent somebody
who had no inkling of how to cover gymnastics.
As a newspaper editor, I'd like to briefly explain to fans how to get on
newspapers' cases (and get results) and explain to club owners how to get
free publicity.
Let me begin with the fans. When I saw that above-mentioned quoatation
in the newspaper, I called the reporter and said, "Did you know that a point
in gymnastics is equalf to 10 points in football?" The phone was silent. I
went on and said, "So, when Florida won last night, it won by 40 points, in
football terms."
But before he had a chance to apologize, I laughed and said, "Don't
worry, it's an error that people often make when they cover gymnastics for
the first time." Then I invited him to a UF practice and sat with him,
explaining the elements, the requirements and what judges look for. And you
know what? His writing changed. It improved a whole lot.
If you see errors in your local newspaper about a meet, give the reporter
a call and be pleasant with her/him. Most reporters want to do a good job,
and any offer by you to help out usually is well-taken. If in the rare
occassion a reporter shrugs you off and continues to make errors, write a
letter to his editor, detailing the errors and or missed coverage. Letters
like that work wonders.
Okay, as for club owners, I'm often amazed at how poorly they handle
public relations. The local youth basketball teams, softball and T-ball, even
swimming, send out press releases every week or so, detailing how well each
team is doing. Believe me, these aren't fancy-schmancy press releases, but
they work.
Want free publicity? If your team attends a meet, craft a press release
and send it to the daily and weekly newspapers in the area. Make sure it's
easy enough for somebody who has never heard of gymnastics to understand it.
Further, don't try to cram every single athlete's name into the release. If
you have award winners or athletes with personal bests, include those in the
release.
If your club is going to host a big meet, tell the newspapers a week
ahead of time and then call the day before to jog the editor's mind. Here's
how I would write a press release to a newspaper:
"The Sunbelt Gymnastics Club will play host to 200 gymnasts in what is
the single biggest youth sporting event this weekend.
"The tournament, featuring teams from 10 different gymnastics clubs,
will feature athletes as young as 6 and as old as 17. Local star, Melissa
Smith, will attempt to perform her full-twisting double-back for the first
time. No gymnast in the history of Sunbelt County has ever performed the
move.
"On a side note, Joanne Mishey, a local gymnastics judge, has just
attained the ranking of Brevet, which is the highest ranking a judge can
receive. She is now on the Olympic level and will be judging at this meet.
"A special note to editors: Non-flash photography is welcome, and we
will gladly assign you a coach/parent who can point out the better gymnasts
or more unique moves. In fact, any reporter or photographer who would like to
come to the practice session the day before for an advance is welcome.
"Feel free to contact me at work at XXX-XXXX or at home at XXX-XXXX."
See how simple this is? Even if there is nothing out of the ordinary
apparent about the meet, find something. Perhaps there is a good rivalry? A
success story of a girl/boy rebounding from injury? A particularly young or
old gymnast? Look for somethng that will make editors say, "Hey, this sounds
interesting."
And remember, send the press release a week before and then call the
editor the day before and ask if someone is coming out.
And, once again, if nobody shows up for the meet, don't give up. Write up
a press release of the results and send it in.
Oh, if you're a women's gymnastics coach, you often can guilt a newspaper
into coverage by saying, "You know, you guys cover all the men's sports, even
the boy's sports, really well. But you never come out to the biggest
gathering of female athletes in the county. Why? Is that fair?"
Well, I promised I'd be brief. If you have any questions, feel free to
send them my way.
-- Ronald

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 1 Apr 1995 17:15:33 -0800
From: ***@NSN.SCS.UNR.EDU
Subject: SPITFIRE

I just saw the movie Spitfire on Action Pay-Per-View. I would call it an
action comedy with some gymnastics thrown in. If you watch all the way
through the credits a guy comes on and says into his radio "We better
keep an eye on Charlie Case, she would make a good operative." Could
this mean a whole slew of Charlie Case episodes. Stay tuned.....

By the way, regular ppv here in Vegas is $3.95. Spitfire was only $2.99.
Does this say anything.

Greg

------------------------------

End of GYMN-L Digest - 31 Mar 1995 to 1 Apr 1995
************************************************